Sunday, June 18, 2006

Machu Picchu, Perú

With the help of my new friend (the AMOXICILINA pill), I woke up at 5 AM to catch the first bus at 5:30 and see the sunrise at Machu Picchu at 6:20. BUT it was raining dogs and cats. I went back to the hotel my tail between my leg (awoiding dogs and cats falling), and starting to swear at my dark star and planned to stay in the most horrible town on the planet till -1- I was ready to climb and -2- the sky was with me.

I push my extra nap untill 7:30 AM, time for the next bus from Aguas Caliente till the entrance of the Machu Picchu site. Paid my fee (US$25 entrance fee + US$12 for the bus) I ran to the top of the Cabaña, and spend the next 2.5 hour, sitting on my rock, looking at the magic happening. The Cabaña is the spot where all the picture you have seen of the Machu Picchu are taken. When I sat, the sun was out along time ago, but still the entire site was in almost dark due to the cloudy sky and the landscape.

I was lucky enought to see the show begining.

Machu Picchu (MP) is a pic surrounded by other pics higher cooling the site and preventing the place from cold wind. The Urubamba river that goes around MP forming a U, protecting that way from any attack. The abrupt side of the site will not help anybody to go on the fast road either, and hide the site even from the bottom. Anyway the surrounding is by itselfmagic. Then the site was kind of surreal where everything was though and design in such a way that the nature was a replica of what was going on. One of the major stone had the same shape of the behing scenery, there you could see a stone polish to have the shape of a condor starting it flight, or there the temple of the sun facing the equinox and reflecting the first light embracing the main place. In orther words, the pleople who were there knew the nature around them, how to domesticate it and how to respect it. Something we kind of miss somehow nowadays. The most amazing thing is probably the fact that the city was built 5000 years ago by roughtly 1000 people in 100 years,and never touched since then :)

I spent, like I say, 2.5 hours warming my rock and smiling my a$$ off at the spectacular magic in fromt of me. The cloudy Huayna Picchu (the pic you see behind in the picture) started to awake itself and lay off its blanket to let the entire site breath. Then the dance between the clouds and the sun began and I was a witness of some amazing choregraphy where the entire site was in dark while the temple of the sun was shinning like a ball of fire. Around 10AM, the entire site was awake and ready to receive its daily 3 millions of tourist or so. I was gald that during my life, I almost had for a while, the entire Machu Picchu for myself, or I concider do so.

This few hours under the sun were pure blessing, and I urge anyone who wants to see magic to come and spend a morning at Machu Picchu.

I promise to upload some shoots I took, not all of them but some :)

Went back to my hotel in Aguas Caliente, then to the train, then to Cuzco, then to my Hotel in Cuzco and finally to bed with a big smile on my face. The magic happen, I close my eyes unlighted by a firework.

Taste of the monthGuinea Pig (Cuy al Horno), easy to do, in less than 30 minutes, and I am sure you will entertain all your friend with this amazing and tasty receipe.